Welcome Back Again
by TeamEthanMorgan
Summary: After the Lucifractor incident, things changed. But the changes really didn't matter. After 2 years, they all receive a shock. Some find it pleasant and some find it... well, unpleasant. Etharah and a slight Bennica. Rated T just in case.
1. Surprise Visit

**A new story here****…**** that I promised you guys. :) I hope you guys are happy. And if you're not****…**** oh, well.**

**This story sets two years after the lucifractor incident****…**** thingy, as you probably read in the summary.**

**I hope you guys find this plot interesting, because if you don't, at least try reading the first paragraph****…**** or first few words and see if it's good****…**** hopefully.**

**Anyway, enjoy.**

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As music filled the air of a house of students celebrating the beginning of their senior year, Benny and his girlfriend, Erica, were standing in a corner, enjoying their time together. Ethan was somewhere that they didn't know in the house, probably enjoying his time too.

After two years since the lucifractor incident, things changed. Two years ago, Sarah had been 'missing' and all of her friends thought she was gone. Forever. Stuck in vampire limbo. First Ethan was in denial. But then, after coming back to reality, he cried over the events. He couldn't take it. Neither did the others, but Ethan seemed to be more heartbroken. After he got over that phase, he knew he had to move on. Still friends with the other supernaturals, he decided to meet other people too, and possibly, become friends. Once he became friends with two guys, he started changing his look and personality. Not just because of his new friends, but because he felt he needed to change. Otherwise, he would've stayed as a geek. Eventually, he dragged Benny into changing too.

Since last year, they've became more popular. But so far, Benny's more lucky that Ethan. While Benny had the love of his life beside him, Ethan was still searching left and right for the right person. At that moment, Ethan wasn't single. But he also didn't think that the girl he's dating was the right girl for him.

Right now, Benny was standing in the corner with his girlfriend. If anyone would see him at the moment, they wouldn't say it was the same Benny Weir two years ago. He was wearing a dark red plain t-shirt, a black leather jacket and dark denim jeans. Not the Benny you'd recognize as the nerd he once was. Rory was still their friend; he just preferred to stay as a geek. But being Ethan and Benny's friend, no jock would dare tease him. Or anyone actually. Heck, he could fight for himself.

And Erica… well, she failed, on purpose, twice in senior year. Everyone knew why she failed except for Benny. She was trying to spend more time as possible with Benny, even if it means failing twice and getting yelled at by her parents. In fact, she was a very smart student, but she didn't use her brain much. This year was the first year she wanted to use it since Ethan and Benny are pulling off the popularity slash being smart thing.

Benny sighed as he looked left and right for his best friend, but not bothering to move. He was just spinning his head around.

"Do you think he knows?" Erica asked.

"It just happened. I don't think he knows." Benny answered. "Where is he?" he muttered.

"Benny, are you sure you want to tell him. The last time this happened, he got super angry that he would've thrown a table at anyone who spoke."

"I'm telling him. He needs to find out." Benny said.

"I need to find out what?" Ethan's voice was heard, which made Benny wonder if Rory taught him that vampire ninja stuff. Minus the vampire part. Benny turned his head around to see his best friend with his eyebrows raised up and his arms crossed. He was wearing almost the same thing as Benny except that he was wearing one of his blue graphic tees.

"Um, Ethan, I know you're gonna be mad but…"

"But what?" Ethan asked.

"Well, Erica and I went upstairs and kind of… saw your girlfriend, Andrea, making out with another guy." Benny knew what would happen next, so he quickly hid behind Erica, hoping he wouldn't be injured this night. He could already see the fire inside his best friend's eyes.

Erica pulled the spell caster in front of her. "Oh, man up."

Benny was expecting himself to get hurt the next second since Ethan wasn't the type that could control his anger. But, unexpectedly, he saw Ethan calming down.

"It's okay, Benny. I'm not gonna hurt you. Not in front of other seniors anyway."

"That's… weird."

"I guess it happens a lot that I got used to it." He said. "I'll break up with Andrea tomorrow morning."

Benny nodded.

"Well, I guess I'm leaving now." Ethan said.

"Why?" Benny asked, shocked. Ethan was the guy that usually liked partying. But this time, he seemed dispirited. "The party just started."

"I know, but I need some time alone." He said.

Benny whispered an 'oh'.

After saying goodbye to his friends, he went outside. It was night time, so not much people were outside. In fact, two or three people were seen in Ethan's eyes. The only thing and the only person that could cross his mind was Sarah. It's been two years. He tried to convince himself that he moved on, but he didn't. Just after their first date, she was gone. He missed her terribly.

He saw a small rock and began kicking it as far as he could. Instead of releasing his anger on Benny, he wanted to do it on a rock. And when he said he was okay, he was lying.

He continued walking and thinking about Andrea and why she cheated on him while kicking the rock. He got so lost into thinking that he wasn't focused on what's around him until the rock stopped under someone else's foot, who Ethan guessed was a girl without looking at the face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he apologized.

"Ethan?" he heard a familiar voice. It was too familiar. It was the voice he's been missing for two years. The voice he wanted to hear. The voice that belonged to a person he wanted to stay beside him.

He looked up to receive a shock. "Sarah?" When he tried to talk, it seemed that he couldn't speak. It was like his voice was gone for a few seconds. But when he managed to get out words, he said, "No, I'm imagining this. I must be." He turned around only to see Sarah flash in front of him.

"Ethan, it's really me." She said, smiling. Ethan took a good look at her. She hasn't changed. Not a single bit. Same smiled. Same facial expressions she used to have. That soft voice he used to hear. Everything about her didn't change. Not in appearance, anyway. He still didn't know if she, herself, changed. But he didn't think so.

"But how? How did you survive?" despite the 'I miss you' he wanted to say, he was still shocked at the surprise visit from Sarah.

"Um, remember the last night you saw me?" Sarah asked. Ethan nodded. "Well, I knew I couldn't survive the lucifractor. When we got out of the building, I knew that the lucifractor's effect would spread everywhere in Whitechapel. The moment we got out, I flew away. Like to another place."

"But Jesse survived." Ethan said.

"That's because he's a two-hundred years old vampire."

"You could've at least called or something."

"I know. I'm really sorry for leaving without a goodbye and… making you guys worried." She said. "Please forgive me." The pleading eyes on Sarah's face were too hard to resist. He couldn't say no to her.

"I forgive you… that's because I really miss you."

Sarah smiled and went to hug Ethan. As Sarah did so, Ethan smiled and hugged her back. He had never been so happy to see someone. Maybe he had been this happy, but this time was different.

As Sarah pulled away, she kept looking at him from head to toe. "You've changed a lot. I don't see that nerd you once were." She giggled unintentionally, and then put her hand on her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

Ethan laughed. "It's okay." He said. "And I know. Benny changed too."

"To be honest, I thought you'd never change. I thought you'd stay a geek."

"Well, I guess I didn't." He noticed that she wasn't too happy with the change, but he let it slide for some reason. "Hey, were you heading somewhere specific?" He asked. Sarah shook her head. "Wanna walk with me? Anywhere?"

Sarah smiled. "Sure." Just as they started walking, she was wondering something. "So, what happened in the past two years?"

"Well, aside from my obvious change, um, Erica is still in school. She failed twice."

"Really? That must stink. I thought she was smart."

"She is. She just did this on purpose. For Benny."

"She's dating Benny now?" Ethan nodded, smiling for his friend's happiness. "I knew she liked him."

"I guess they were meant for each other." He said.

"What about you? Haven't you found the perfect girl for you?"

"I don't know. It's just that I just figured out my girlfriend's cheating on me."

"I'm so sorry." She said. She was really sorry about this, but she was also glad because she wanted a chance with him. She liked him a lot.

"It's okay. I mean, sure something bad happened, but at least my friend is back." He smiled at Sarah.

When Sarah smiled back at him, she felt like they were having a moment. But she knew it was just smiling. Little did she know that Ethan also felt something between them.

"Ethan, I have good news. I'm coming back to high school." She said cheerfully.

"Really? I thought you finished studying." He asked, obviously surprised by the words that came out of her mouth.

"Well, I didn't. And I'm so happy that this year, we're gonna be in the same grade."

"Yeah, I'm happy too." He said, just realizing that all of them were seniors now. Rory, Benny, Erica, Sarah and him.

He was too happy. Not just because of what she just said, but because she's back. That's all that mattered to Ethan.

"Well, I think we reached my home." Sarah said, looking at her house. "But I don't want to go in there."

"Why?" Ethan asked.

"Because I'm afraid of my parents' reaction. They're probably worried about me." She said. From her tone, he knew she was too nervous and scared to even speak. It seemed as if she was forcing her words to come out.

"What about I come with you?" Ethan suggested.

Sarah looked at Ethan with a thankful look as they walked to her house.

Just as Ethan rang the door bell, Sarah began to shake. She didn't know what to do at the moment. She didn't know what to expect. Yelling maybe?

Ethan held her hand. "Relax. I'm here beside you." Sarah didn't seem to mind him holding hands, but he was afraid of what she thought from the inside, so he let go of her hand.

When the door opened, Sarah felt like she was panicking. She wanted to run away, but it was too late. The door already opened. When her mom saw her, she hugged her without saying any word. She was too happy to see her daughter to even speak. Then, Sarah remembered that her parents weren't the kind that would yell at her. They were always nice to her.

"I missed you, sweetie." Her mother said. When she released her daughter, a tear was shown in her face. "Come on, I bet your dad wants to see you."

"Okay, mom. Just a second." Sarah said, looking at her best friend who was standing awkwardly.

Her mother nodded and got inside the house, not closing the door behind her so Sarah would get in after talking to Ethan. Just as Sarah's mom was out of sight, Sarah went to hug Ethan. "Thank you." She whispered.

"For what? I didn't do anything," he replied.

"You're wrong. You helped me a lot." Before she could let go of him, she got her face close to his cheek and kissed it. Ethan was frozen in his place. He was surprised that Sarah actually kissed him. It was on the cheek, but who really cared? It was still a kiss.

When she left, all Ethan could do was sigh. _A kiss on the cheek on the first day. I wonder what would happen in a few days._

If this happened with other girls, he'd make no reactions. But with Sarah, it felt different. Maybe he did find the perfect girl.

**== Next day ==**

It was Sarah's first day in school for a long time. She wanted to see her friends again. She wanted to continue studying. She wanted to do many things she missed or didn't do in the past two years. Especially senior prom. They say it's much better than regular prom. She wanted to go so badly. But now, it was time to go see her friends… and the reactions on their faces.

She took her bag and went walking to school. When she reached school, she went to get her class schedule. First period was Science. _Great, s_he thought as she mentally sighed. She walked to her science class only to see everyone inside. The teacher, the one she recognized two years ago as Mr. Hastings, turned around to see her.

"Well, I think we have a new student. Actually, she not even new." He said. Sarah just looked down and walked in. After she got beside the teacher, she looked up to see the students. There were Ethan and Benny, sitting and writing on their books, not even paying attention to what's happening. She just smiled. Every three students were sitting on the table. And the only table that was empty, and to her luck, was the one Ethan and Benny were sitting in.

"Sarah Fox, you may sit beside Morgan and Weir." Just when her name was said, Benny's head rose up. Ethan didn't even bother to do the same. Benny was too shocked to see Sarah back. But right now, he knew it was no time for questions. Sarah sat on the seat beside Ethan. Putting her bag on the floor, she noticed Ethan looking at her and smiling. "Hey." He whispered, knowing that he should be quiet in class.

Sarah said hi to him back, and then looked back at the teacher.

"Okay, class. I'm going to distribute last week's pop quizzes." And then he mumbled something about how the class should improve and get better at science. Just as he sat down on the chair, farting noises came out and all the class burst out laughing.

"Okay, who's the immature person who did this?" he asked, getting up from his seat and looking at each of the students. But then, he noticed Ethan and Benny high-fiving each other. He sighed. "I should've known it was you two." He pointed at Ethan and Benny. "You two... detention for a whole week."

"Didn't you give us detention this week already?" Benny asked, trying hard not to smile.

"I meant detention for also next week."

Ethan shrugged. "We always get detention. It's normal." He said that as if it was no big deal.

Sarah unbelievably looked at the two boys.

Mr. Hastings shook his head. "I just hope you don't affect Sarah. She's a very smart and polite student. I don't want you two boys ruining her. And I know you three used to be friends."

"Don't worry. I won't let those two goons ruin me." Sarah assured him.

The teacher just nodded, and then went back to distribute the papers, which he still hasn't done yet.

**== After Science Class ==**

"I can't believe that you guys would do such a thing in the beginning of the class." Sarah said. "And just like the teacher said, it's totally immature."

"No 'I miss you'?" Benny asked.

"Fine. I miss you. Happy?" Sarah said quickly.

"Very." Benny said. "But what happened to you?"

"I'll explain once I see Rory and Erica." Sarah said, looking left and right for her vampire friends.

It didn't need time. When walking with the boys, she heard Rory's voice. "Come on, Erica. I need a hunting partner." He whispered. But Sarah's super hearing was something useful at the moment. "There's no one that would come with me. Come on."

"You're too annoying to hunt with."

"I promise I won't annoy you. Please."

Sarah smiled and got behind her friends, who were not facing her at the moment. She tapped Erica's back. Her best friend fixed her hair, thinking it's her boyfriend and turned around with Rory. When she saw her old best friend, her jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh! Sarah?" She gave Sarah a crushing hug, and then backed away. Just as that happened, the other two boys came beside Sarah.

"I missed you, Sarah." Rory said, smiling.

"Yeah, me too. I missed you guys _so_ much." She said.

"Are you gonna explain now what happened?" Benny asked.

Sarah nodded and explained everything that happened two years ago.

"Wait." Benny said, looking at his best friend. "When Sarah came in class, why weren't you surprised?" Ethan looked down as Sarah smiled. "Did you know Sarah was here?"

"Just since last night." Ethan said.

"And you didn't tell me?"

"You didn't come home until 1 AM... which your grandma told me. I was asleep by that time."

"What about when we were on our way to school?"

"Uh, I forgot?" Ethan said nervously. Benny rolled his eyes as Sarah laughed.

"Well, I better go to class." Sarah said, still laughing. She waved at her friends and went off to her next class.

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**Almost 3,000 words. But it's worth it. More romance is coming up in future chapters. Not next chapter. I think.**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to leave a review down there. Yeah, that box down there. If there's anything you want to point out, suggest, tell me or even your opinion of this chapter, leave a review. :)**

**Until next chapter.**


	2. Author Note

Okay, I'm probably gonna put this in every incomplete fanfic I have, but I have something to tell you.

Bad news.

Well, I decided to stop writing my chapters until the end of school. I know most of you are sad, but it's just that everyone's busy in school days and stuff. I'm not. I'm always free. I do my homework but I have so much free time. It's just for some of you guys. So, now you know the reason.

For 'Expect the Unexpected' readers: I know there's one last chapter left, but I'm not updating it until the end of school. After this story's over, I'll post a new one. I have so many ideas in my head and I can't wait for you to see it. Sadly, I have to wait.

For 'Jesse and Ethan Love Story' readers: This is the only story I'll be updating as long as EthanLover is updating it too. I guess you guys (who read this story obviously) are happy.

For 'Love with Whole New Feelings' readers: I'm sorry I left you hanging with the way I ended the last chapter. I really am. I hope you guys aren't mad at me. :(

For 'Not the Way it Used to Be' readers: Where do I begin? I'm torturing you guys with every chapter. I'm a horrible person. I know you guys want to know what's gonna happen next, but you're gonna have to wait for a LOOONG time. *sigh* I really like this story and I'm so sad to do this.

For 'Someone Like You' readers: Well, a few chapters were published and I still haven't made a lot of progress with this story. The good part still hasn't started. (I like to plan my stories thoroughly.)

For 'Under the Moonlight' readers: Okay, I'm gonna make a promise right now about this story. First thing I'll update this summer is this story. If I didn't, well, I won't be (hopefully). Here, I promised.

For 'Welcome Back Again' readers (finally): What should I say? Only one chapter! Just one was published! I feel so bad for this story. But when I'll start writing again, I promise things are gonna be good.

If you're all wondering, yes, I do publish my stories alphabetically. More organized. I don't want to update a story three times a month and forget one story. That's not fair. And if I start writing 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' fanfics, don't be surprised. I fell in love with that too (not more than MBAV).

One more thing, in no way do I own MBAV or it's characters. I just own the plots that will be updated later this summer. Unless people are active.

Until summer time...

peace!


	3. Can a Broken Heart be Fixed?

**Sorry for the LONG wait. But anyway, this story is continuing now.**

**Oh, and you're gonna love this story. I know that. If you don't… who am I kidding? I can read your future! Yep.**

**Plus, I decided to update every 5 days instead of every Saturday (our timing).**

**Let's start with this unplanned chapter after I just decided to wing it.**

* * *

Sarah packed her stuff inside her school bag on the next Monday morning.

Now that she's back, she was hoping everything would go great. No supernaturals - which she really doubted, no trouble, no going to another town and not anything letting things go bad. She just wanted everything to be perfect this year.

She was so excited to see her friends again. Yes, she'd seen them the previous day, but she left for two years. One day wasn't going to make her not miss them a lot. She really missed hanging out with Erica, talking to Benny, listening to Rory's stupid comments which never failed to make her laugh and… Ethan. Just simply him.

He was so perfect in an imperfect way. He wasn't a guy with no sins, but he was certainly a charmer. She really never admitted that. After their first disaster date, she actually felt a spark despite the bad events that happened. After that, she realized how much he really liked her and how much she liked him. She liked everything about him. His smile that always brightened up the room, his lips that she wanted to kiss so badly, his eyes that always showed innocence, his laugh that made her giggle. Everything was so amazing about him.

She would also say more things, but she also looked at the negative side. He changed a lot over the two years. But he never told her why. Did he not like being the Ethan he was? Or did he just want a good reputation? Or was it because of someone? Maybe a girl he liked. But the thought of that made her jealous.

_He must've dated many girls by now_, she thought, bringing herself down.

But still, why? Why did he change? Another question was: did she like it? It had its negative sides. He's no longer the Ethan she knew, who was a kind person. At that moment, she didn't even think she knew him anymore. He might still be good; he might have changed to the worst. He was very hard to figure out. You'd have to spend hours with him just to get to know the new him. She really didn't know him, but she knew there will be negative sides to the change. But on the bright side, his style in clothes got better. Plus, he was even more handsome than she remembered him.

She just wondered, if she ever asked him out, when he's single again, of course, would he agree to go on a date or not? They've already dated before and maybe he still liked her. But there was a possibility of awkwardness occurring or even rejection.

She sighed, getting up from her bed to greet her family, who were still surprisingly very cheerful. Normally, she'd expect them to yell at her after she's even one minute late. They were very strict. But she was gone for two years. Two years! What changed? She decided to be happy with this situation and just go to school.

* * *

Time flew very fast at school… mostly because half of her periods, she was in the same class with Ethan and was seated next to him. She was so distracted she didn't even pay attention to class, unlike Ethan, who looked engrossed in the lesson. She took it as an excuse to ask him for help at studying.

Since Sarah wanted to get to know the new Ethan more, she asked him if they'd go to the park at night at 8:00 and walk, just babbling about their lives. When he agreed, she got so happy, she even thought she did a happy dance in her head.

At night, she was so nervous about the walk in the park. She didn't know why, but she was. They were just going to know each other a little more. Why was she so stressed about this? And she kept asking herself about when she became like this.

She opened her closet that was full of clothes, which were bought the previous night very quickly before the shopping malls closed. She didn't want to admit it, but she had so much fun with her mother running around the mall, looking quickly for new clothes.

_I guess I really miss my family_, she smiled.

But after that, she was back to anxiety. She carefully looked at her clothes and chose a simple green long-sleeved shirt and a black jeans jacket with black tights. She really hoped Ethan still liked green.

_Stop obsessing over him for heaven's sake_, she heard a voice that she was sure was similar to Erica's.

She shook her head, trying to get the thought of pleasing him with even her outfit out.

She looked at the clock on her wall. 7:26 PM. She had enough time to put on her makeup, wear her clothes and fix her hair. By the time she was done, it was 7:46. She spent exactly 20 minutes on everything. Now, she had to leave. Yes, it was early, but she just wanted to go there and walk until he arrived or anything.

She took her older sister's car since they sold hers while she was away. They wanted to buy her a new car since she paid for that one by herself. So, this was a gift for her. She got inside the car and started the engine. She would've flown there, but she wanted to act normal for the moment.

She parked her car once she reached her destination. She just wanted to forget about everything and walk. As she did so, the wind that she felt while walking made her calm. She watched as the kids played, and the families having a picnic, and the couples walking together. She wished she was in one of their places. Either a kid who had no worries, a girl sitting in between her family, or with a very special person she really liked. She mostly wished to be as happy as Benny and Erica together, not a care in their head about the world and all the thoughts are about that person that's standing in front of them… the source to their happiness.

As she walked, she saw one person sitting on a bench who looked like he was texting someone. Ethan. He was early too. The corners of her lips turned upwards. She jogged over to him and sat down.

"Hey," she said.

He turned his head and looked at her, a bit surprised she was already there. "Oh, hi. Didn't expect you to be here just yet."

"Same here."

"I just came here in case you're ahead of time."

"Oh. Well, that's nice. Thanks… I guess."I said.

He laughed. "No problem."

"So, what happened to your girlfriend?" She asked out of curiosity. She knew she shouldn't nose into his business, but she couldn't help it.

"I didn't break up with her." He said, looking down at his legs.

"Why?"

"She didn't cheat on me."

"Then what happened?"

"She was just drunk. That's all."

"And you forgive her this easily?" She didn't say it like a question, but more like a statement.

"What am I supposed to do? She was drunk. She wasn't thinking clearly." It seemed to her that his voice got louder by the second. "Enough about her. What about you?"

"Huh?" She asked, not knowing what he really asked her.

"What happened to you over the past two years?"

"Not much is to be told. Some vampires survived in Whitechapel, including me, obviously. Most of us went as refugees to other towns where vampires are widely spread. So, I went with them. The reason we did that is because the Lucifractor made us _extremely_ weak. It drained most of our powers. We weren't able to even walk a lot. We had to take a break every five minutes when walking."

"Well, why didn't you stay here?" He asked.

"If we did, our whole energy would be taken and we'd die. Plus, even if we'd go and ask help from the greatest spell caster in Whitechapel, we wouldn't survive. We'd have to ask help from the eldest of our kind, which are the most experienced." She paused for two seconds. "I saw where Erica and Rory were standing. They were lucky to be in a safe place with Anastasia."

"I'm sorry to hear about that. I totally understand.'

"Okay, my turn to ask a question."

"Ask away," he welcomed her request.

"You might be a bit uncomfortable if I ask you this question, but I really want to know the cause of the change in your personality and clearly your appearance."She squinted her eyes in fear of his reaction or what he might say to her.

"It's okay, Sarah. I'm not gonna hurt you for asking this."

She relaxed her muscles and thanked him.

"After you left, I felt sad. Really sad. I didn't know what to do. I… finally asked you out on a date and then I was given a thought that I lost you. I didn't want you to leave me, but I thought it was too late for me. That I had to move on and forget you. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn't get you out of my head. So, I decided to change. Staying the geeky me that I used to be wasn't going to help me with anything. I started to hang out with some popular guys who didn't hate nerds, which actually surprised me. Eventually, I became like them. Benny didn't want to stay alone, so he was dragged with me. And Rory, well… he wanted to stay the same. And, yeah, that's about it."

"I-I'm sorry about that. I didn't know you were that sad about me leaving."

"It's okay."

"Don't hit me or anything, but I really think you've changed… like a lot." She admitted.

He laughed. "I won't hit you. You're just stating the obvious," he replied. "But is it a good change or a bad one in your opinion?"

She didn't want to tell him the whole truth but she couldn't lie, so she decided to say something she really thought of but without hurting anyone's feelings. "Well, I think you're more self-confident and… well dressed. So, it's good… kinda." She couldn't help it. She needed to tell him the truth. "It's just… I miss the old you. But don't change for me. I don't want you to."

"I won't. I would've if we're back to the past two years, but I've moved on."

But Sarah knew that deep inside him, he didn't move on. It was noticeable from his eyes no matter how he tried to hide it. She just wanted him to admit he liked her. She knew she had a place in his heart because, honestly, he touched hers. She knew that the relationship was one sided between them both before, him having a crush on her and her not even thinking about him that way. It looked like karma wanted her to suffer his pain because now she can feel the ache of someone saying they don't have feeling for her when she does.

"That's good," she lied. She swore that her voice would've almost cracked, but she held everything in. "So, are we gonna walk or not?"

He smiled, which made her know the answer.

"Come on," she said, taking his arms and dragging him to walk with her.

* * *

**Wow, so much for unplanned, huh? Well, thank you because you read till the end. You loved it, right? I know you did. Let me guess, right now, you want an update.**

**Random person in TEM's head: How did you know that?**

**Me *smiles*: Magic!**

**Okay, stop goofing around, TEM. I'm not gonna force you guys to review (except my classmate and BFF. You know yourself *smirks*), so you don't have to review, guys (but it would be appreciated).**


	4. Lost Trust, Lost Friend

**Hey guys!**

**Before I start, I got a review from a guest and it seemed I got mixed up with the time in the previous chapter. If you read it the first day it came out, keep in mind that Sarah was supposed to be in the park at eight. Accidentally wrote seven. Sorry, guys.**

**Refreshing you guys, I want to remind you that last chapter Sarah went with Ethan to the park and got to know him a bit better. Yeah.**

**Well, other than that I don't have anything to say other than 'enjoy'.**

* * *

Erica, with Sarah in her car, parked her car in the school's parking lot. Sarah would've taken someone's car from her family if they weren't taken. They had two cars: one was taken from her sister, who needed to go drive to her college; another was taken by her parents who were dropping off at work. She was left with no car, making her call Erica and pick her up.

Before the two girls got out, they saw other people positioning their car to their right side. The faces inside were known too well to their eyes.

Just as those recognized faces got out of the car, Erica shouted their name, getting out of the car with Sarah.

"Hey Benny! Hey Ethan!"

Sarah never knew she'd hear Erica so happy, so cheerful. But she couldn't comment on that much because she didn't see her for two years. People change and she had to accept it.

Erica grabbed Benny by his hand and walked with him inside, forgetting that Sarah and Ethan were there.

Sarah's eyes shifted to Ethan's, who was smiling at her.

"So, since when?" she asked, looking past Ethan at the two love birds. "I know they're dating, I just don't know since when."

"Oh, well, they started dating since you left. Like, maybe, it took them three or four days until Benny asked her out." He looked a bit to his right, smiling a bit. "I'm happy for him," then his smile disappeared. "I just wish I was as happy."

She stepped closer to him and took his hand, trying to comfort him. "Come on. Your life can't be that bad."

He looked away from Sarah with a sad frown on his face. "You don't… You don't know me. You don't know what happened to me."

"Well, tell me. Maybe I can help."

He chuckled, which scared Sarah a bit, making her release his hand. "If I wanted to tell you, I would have. I just don't want to. Not yet, anyway. Even if I tell you, you can't help me."

He looked extremely hurt. His lips started to tremble, and his eyes were looking down at the ground. He was trying to stop his lips from the shaking, but nothing seemed to work. Finally, he bit on his lips and looked her in the eyes.

Whatever was going on with him, Sarah thought, it didn't look like something simple and stupid. Judging from her knowledge of Ethan, he wasn't an emotional person, so this must have been something bad.

Trying to get him to stop thinking about it, she decided to change the subject. "Wanna… get inside?"

He nodded, his smile finding its way back to his mouth. It wasn't that big of a smile, but it was at least something to make him stop thinking about it.

As they were walking, they started to talk about anything – even if it didn't make any sense. The thing was, they weren't paying attention to where they were walking. Once they entered the school, a guy bumped into them. Being the nice girl Sarah wanted to be, she apologized to the guy. Having a look at him, he looked like a sophomore. She might be wrong, but that was how he looked like. His appearance gave her the impression that he was a nice and sweet person, kind of like the old Ethan.

But the old him was gone because after she apologized, he started saying, "What out where you're going next time." It wasn't an advice; it was a threat.

She remembered that Ethan used to be the person to get threatened, not the opposite.

"I-I'm sorry. It w-won't happen again." The guy looked really scared with his head looking down and his eyes looking anywhere but them.

She couldn't let him do anything to the poor boy, so she came in between them.

"Don't worry," she said to him, looking at Ethan with anger. "If he frightens you again, I'm sure the next time you'll see him, he won't have any arms."

The boy smiled at Sarah for trying to help him, and then walked away from Ethan.

When she turned to her friend again, he gave her a look that said 'what were you doing'.

She felt brave now. Even if he was Ethan, the guy she was crushing on, she wouldn't let him do anything to innocent people. "Look, you were once in his place – bullied, pushed around, wedgied, shoved in lockers. I don't want you to be a bully. You always hated them. Now…" her voice trailed off, a bit hurt to hear herself say those words. "Now, you're one of them."

He looked away once again. "I told you, you don't know me. Don't try to get in my way, okay?"

Then he walked away, leaving her speechless.

Yes, she definitely didn't know him.

She didn't say anything, but she went to her locker, blaming herself for ever coming back. That was not Ethan. Not the one she loved and knew so very well. Who was he now? He became a person who he didn't want to be – that was what he said in his sophomore year to her, at least.

_I miss him. I miss Ethan, not this bully. Where _is_ the old Ethan? I don't see him anywhere. Maybe I did… last night. I want him to stay like that. I just can't control him and what he does, and maybe it's better this way._ She sighed. _I don't know anymore._

But many things puzzled her. She didn't see Benny being like that. She spent some time with him and he look like he wouldn't do such a thing to someone like that boy. And if he wasn't like Ethan, why wouldn't they stop him from doing this? It surely didn't look like it was the first time he was picking on someone. So, why wouldn't anyone stop him?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Erica approach her.

"Hello again," she said cheerfully.

"Hey," Sarah noticed that her tone was very sad compared to Erica.

"What's wrong with you?" Erica asked. "Boy trouble?"

She wasn't sure of the answer, but she knew it was a 'yes' after a few seconds. "You can say that."

"Who is it? I'm gonna teach this guy a lesson. No one messes with my friend." Her eyes glowed yellow after she made sure that no one was watching. Her first was ready. Yes, same old Erica… just happier.

"No need, Erica. It's just… Ethan."

Her eyes went back to the normal blue color and she looked all of a sudden curious. "What about him?"

"I didn't know he… gave a hard time to the people weaker than him."

"Oh yeah, that started a year ago."

"And you don't stop him?" Sarah felt sudden anger at her friends. If she were in her place, she wouldn't stop giving up on her friends, she wouldn't dare let her friend change to the worse.

"Trust me, we tried. When Benny was attempting to do that, Ethan wouldn't listen. He tried and tried and I came along with him, trying to stop this. But eventually, he got too scary. Even for me."

"Really? But why all this?"

Erica leaned against a locker. "Poor kid. I don't wanna be in his place. I guess he's been through a lot. No, I know he's been through a lot."

"What's going on? No one would tell me. What has he been through? I don't know!" Sarah was now losing her temper.

"If he didn't tell you, it means he doesn't want you to know. I'm sorry, I just don't want to tell you and have him lose trust in me."

"Why do you even need his trust?"

Erica sighed. "Because of Benny. I need both Rory and Ethan's trust. If I don't, Benny would mad because he knows I'm up to no good."

Sarah nodded, understanding Erica's point.

"So, did Ethan break up with his girlfriend, Mary Simon?"

"No. He said that she was drunk in the party and she accidentally kissed the other guy."

"I thought Ethan was better than that!"

"What do you mean?"

"Mary is in a family of very religious people. She never drinks because she doesn't want to. She says it's wrong. I thought Ethan knew that. Plus, I was with Mary half of the party. The only time I turned my back was when I wanted to give Benny something. I turned around and didn't see her. I went upstairs and I found her kissing a guy in a room. She couldn't have done it in that short period of time, anyway."

"W-We have to tell him."

"You tell him. Not me."

Sarah couldn't understand why and wanted to protest. "Why me?"

"Because you two are the love birds. I'm barely his friend."

Sarah got irritated from Erica's comment. "Stop saying love birds."

The last thing she heard from Erica was a fit of laughter before she was gone.

She had to do it now. She had to tell Ethan.

She looked at the watch in her wrist. There was barely enough time to go and tell him. Lucky for her, the next class was with him. It was a good thing she was seated behind him. That way, she wasn't too close or too far. Perfect for whispering distance.

Truth to be told, she was nervous and afraid that he might not want to listen to her or believe her. Now this was a point where she was pleading for the old, understanding Ethan to come back.

Then memories came flashing through her head. She remembered when they smashed his moon rocks. First he was pissed off, but then he was thankful that they saved his life. Then she remembered the first time the boys found out about her being a vampire and how they were cool with it after a few minutes. Then came the flashback after they broke up and how mad she was at him that she didn't want to talk. At that time, Ethan didn't let that get in his way. He still wanted to talk to her, still wanted to hold on to the friendship they had.

She knew she was mean to him the last year she was with him and realized that she deserved Ethan's attitude towards her.

Her sad, sad thoughts were interrupted when the teacher came. It felt like hours and hours when he started explaining the lessons to them. She paid attention, but she wasn't very interested. Then came the time when he wanted to go to the teacher's room and get some books for the lesson that he forgot to bring and Sarah was too happy that he left.

She wanted to tap Ethan on the shoulder and apologize – for nothing – to him so she could start telling him about Mary. Before she could even manage to do that, he spun around, surprising her. It was a good thing the class was noisily talking or they wouldn't have a chance to talk.

"Listen, Sarah. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said to you earlier. You were right. I _am _a bully and a jerk. I really don't want to be that. I…" he took a two seconds pause "I'll stop."

_Wow, Erica and Benny couldn't stop him after their attempt… but I could after doing nothing?_

She smiled at him, glad she convinced him. In reply to her smile, he grinned at her. "It's okay. I forgive you."

"Great," he mumbled.

She had to tell him. Now. "Actually, I need to talk to you about something. About Mary."

"Okay…" he said, and paused in the middle of saying the K.

"Um, Mary wasn't drinking at the party… she _was _cheating on you."

He laughed, but not too loudly for the class to hear.

_Great. He doesn't believe me. Now what?_

"I knew that before."

She was now relieved. "So, why didn't you break up with her?"

"Because I have a plan… if you're willing to be in it, it would be great."

"No, no, no! I'm not going to be part of your plan... whatever it is." She shook her head.

"Please!" he begged. His eyes were getting huge and sparkly… and so innocent. Something that she hadn't seen for a while. She couldn't resist his puppy dog eyes. They were irresistible.

"Okay, fine!" she gave up. "But only for you."

He smiled now, his usual smug look shown on his face. "Okay. Meet me tonight at the park, same time as yesterday."

Then he did the most unexpected thing to her. He winked and turned around. Just as that happened, the teacher showed up again.

_What was that for?_ She asked herself, referring to the wink. She had to admit that she kind of liked it. _But… was he flirting with me?_

The rest of the day went as if nothing happened. She saw that he was acting normally, not showing a sign that they were in a small fight or that the wink happened.

And she wondered why.

* * *

**I hope you guys are satisfied with the end of the chapter.**

**You don't have to worry. I'll tell you why Ethan has a… small temper when the time comes. When Sarah **_**has**_** to find out. Not next chapter, but maybe the chapter after it… depending on my chapter planning. :)**

**Until then…**

**-TEM**


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